Hood assembly for a machine and a method of use thereof

ABSTRACT

A hood assembly includes a first hood and a second hood. The second hood is selectively rotatable with respect to the first hood to provide rapid access to components enclosed by the second hood, such as a radiator. The first and second hoods are selectively rotatable together to provide access to components enclosed by the first and second hoods, such as an engine.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This disclosure relates to hood assemblies, and more particularly to ahood assembly that includes a first hood that is selectively moveablewith respect to a second hood.

BACKGROUND

Mobile machines, such as off highway trucks, excavators, tractors, motorgraders, wheel loaders, scrapers and the like often operate in anenvironment characterized by airborne debris, including particles suchas dust. The airborne debris is directed by the cooling fan of themachine through the radiator. The debris collects on the radiator and,over time, restricts air flow through the radiator and thus reduces theefficacy of the radiator.

Therefore, the operator must manually clean the radiator to preventexcessive accumulation of debris. Cleaning the radiator typicallyinvolves spraying a fluid such as water into a first side of theradiator that faces the engine and a second side opposite the first.

To access the radiator for cleaning in some prior art machines, theoperator must raise an engine hood to its open position. If the hood isa large one which covers the engine and the radiator, opening the hoodfrequently to clean the radiator can be cumbersome and time-consuming. Amachine with a very large hood may require a powered actuator to openthe hood. Opening a hood with a powered actuator can be especially timeconsuming. In some instances, radiator cleaning can be furthercompounded since tilting the hood to an open position can sometimes onlygive good access to one side of the radiator.

In some prior art machines, a radiator grill is pivotable about avertical axis to provide access to the second side of the radiator,i.e., the side of the radiator that faces away from the engine.Accordingly, to clean the radiator, first the entire engine hood israised to spray the first side of the radiator, then the hood is loweredand the radiator grill is pivoted to clear debris from the second sideof the radiator. If debris inadvertently re-enters the radiator when thesecond side of the radiator is being cleared, then the entire hood mustbe raised again to repeat the step of spraying the first side of theradiator. Thus in some instances, a pivoting grill provides access onlyto the second side, and the first side is only accessible by raising thehood, but both procedures need to be done in order to thoroughly cleanthe radiator. These respective events may be further complicated in someinstances since the radiator may only be pivoted when the hood islowered.

Some prior art vehicles include small access panels that allow rapidaccess to limited parts of the engine and radiator. For example, Bestdiscloses an access panel in U.S. Pat. No. 2,132,926 that providesaccess to a water fill tube and an oil fill tube in an automobile.Hansen discloses an access panel in U.S. Pat. No. 3,743,045 thatprovides access to the side of a radiator that faces away from anengine. However, the access panels disclosed by Best and Hansen do notprovide rapid access to all parts of a radiator necessary to clean theradiator of debris.

The present disclosure is directed to one or more of the problems setforth above.

SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE

A hood assembly is provided that includes a first hood and a secondhood. A first hinge defines a first axis and operatively interconnectsthe first hood and the second hood such that the second hood isselectively rotatable with respect to the first hood about the firstaxis. The hood assembly further includes at least part of a second hingethat defines a second axis that is substantially parallel to the firstaxis. The at least part of a second hinge is operatively connected tothe first hood such that the first and second hoods are selectivelyrotatable together about the second axis.

A machine includes a chassis, an engine, a radiator, and a hoodassembly. The hood assembly has an engine hood that is moveably mountedwith respect to the chassis, and a radiator hood that is moveablymounted with respect to the chassis. The hood assembly is characterizedby three configurations including a fully closed configuration, a fullyopen configuration, and a radiator hood open configuration. The radiatorhood twice intersects a transversely oriented line passing between theengine and the radiator in at least one of the three configurations anddoes not intersect the line in at least one other of the threeconfigurations.

A method of configuring a machine includes moving a hood assembly from afully closed configuration to a fully open configuration by rotating anengine hood and a radiator hood together about a first axis. The methodfurther includes moving the hood assembly from the fully closedconfiguration to a radiator hood open configuration by rotating theradiator hood with respect to the engine hood about a second axis thatis substantially parallel to the first axis.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic, perspective, exploded view of a hood assemblyincluding a radiator hood and an engine hood;

FIG. 2 is a schematic side view of a machine including the hood assemblyof FIG. 1 in a fully closed configuration;

FIG. 3 is a schematic side view of the machine of FIG. 2 with the hoodassembly in a fully open configuration;

FIG. 4 is a schematic side view of the machine of FIGS. 2 and 3 with thehood assembly in a radiator hood open configuration; and

FIG. 5 is a schematic sectional view of the radiator hood of FIGS. 1-4in a bias neutral position.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Referring to FIG. 1, a hood assembly 10 is schematically depicted. Thehood assembly includes a first hood 14, which is also referred to hereinas an “engine hood,” and a second hood 18, which is also referred toherein as a “radiator hood.” The engine hood 14 includes a top panel 22and two sidewall panels 26A, 26B. Sidewall panel 26A is connected to thetop panel 22 so that the top edge 30A of the sidewall panel 26A abuts alateral edge 34A of the top panel 22. Similarly, sidewall panel 26B isconnected to the top panel 22 so that the top edge 30B of the sidewallpanel 26B abuts another lateral edge 34B of the top panel 22. The toppanel 22 is generally horizontally oriented, and the two sidewall panels26A, 26B depend downwardly therefrom so that the engine hood 14 ischaracterized by an inverted U-shaped cross section. Accordingly, thepanels 22, 26A, 26B cooperate to define a cavity (shown at 35 in FIG. 2)therebetween that is downwardly open. In the embodiment depicted, theengine hood 14 includes structural members 36 mounted to the panels 22,26A, 26B. An exhaust stack 37 is mounted to the top panel 22.

The radiator hood 18 includes a top panel 38 and two sidewall panels42A, 42B. Sidewall panel 42A is connected to the top panel 38 so thatthe top edge 46A of the sidewall panel 42A abuts a lateral edge 50A ofthe top panel 38. Similarly, sidewall panel 42B is connected to the toppanel 38 so that the top edge 46B of the sidewall panel 42B abutsanother lateral edge 50B of the top panel 38. The top panel 38 isgenerally horizontally oriented, and the two sidewall panels 42A, 42Bdepend downwardly therefrom so that the radiator hood 18 ischaracterized by an inverted U-shaped cross section. Accordingly, thepanels 38, 42A, 42B cooperate to define a cavity (shown at 51 in FIG. 2)therebetween that is downwardly open. A radiator grill (shown at 52 inFIG. 5) is connected to the top panel 38 and the sidewall panels 42A,42B. In the embodiment depicted, the radiator hood 18 includesstructural reinforcement members 54 mounted to the panels 38, 42A, 42B.Each of panels 42A and 42B defines a plurality of optional ventilationholes 56. If desired, panel 38, may also include ventilation holes.

The hood assembly 10 includes a frame 58. The engine hood 14 is mountedwith respect to the frame or support structure 58 such as by mechanicalfasteners (not shown). Two hinges 60 define a first axis A1. Hinges 60connect top panel 38, and therefore connect the radiator hood 18, to theframe 58 such that the radiator hood 18 is selectively rotatable withrespect to the engine hood 14 and the frame 58 about axis A1. Two hinges64 define a second axis A2 and are mounted to the frame 58 such that theframe 58, the engine hood 14, and the radiator hood 18 are selectivelyrotatable together about axis A2. The hinges 60, 64 are arranged suchthat axis A1 and axis A2 are substantially parallel to one another.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, the hinges 64 operatively connect the hoodassembly 10 to the chassis 68 of a machine 72, which, in the embodimentdepicted, is a wheel loader. However, those skilled in the art willrecognize other machines, such as off highway trucks, excavators,tractors, motor graders, wheel loaders, scrapers, etc., that may be usedwith the hood assembly 10. The wheel loader 72 includes an operator cab74, and a work implement 76 having a bucket 80 attached for digging andloading. The work implement 76 is preferably powered and controlled byhydraulic systems (not shown) as is well known in the art. The wheelloader 72 also includes an engine 84 and two radiators 88A, 88B mountedwith respect to the chassis 68 rearward of the operator cab 74. Theradiators 88A, 88B are arranged parallel to, and spaced apart from, oneanother.

The hood assembly 10 is selectively moveable between at least threeconfigurations, including a fully closed configuration, a fully openconfiguration, and a radiator hood open configuration. The hood assembly10 is depicted in the fully closed configuration in FIG. 2. The enginehood 14 is positioned with respect to the chassis 68 such that the toppanel 38 of the engine hood 14 is horizontally oriented and covers theengine 84. The engine 84 is at least partially within the cavity 35formed by the top panel 38 and the sidewall panels 26A, 26B.

The radiator hood 18 is positioned with respect to the chassis 68 andthe engine hood 14 such that the top panel 38 of the radiator hood 18 ishorizontally oriented and covers the radiators 88A, 88B. The radiators88A, 88B are at least partially within the cavity 51 formed by the toppanel 38 and the sidewall panels 42A, 42B. A line 90 extendingtransversely with respect to machine 72 passes between the engine 84 andthe radiators 88A, 88B. When the hood assembly 10 is in the fully closedconfiguration, the radiator hood 18 twice intersects the line 90,namely, at panel 42A and panel 42B. In the context of the presentdisclosure, a radiator hood “intersects” a line if the line extendsthrough a solid portion of the radiator hood or if the line extendsthrough a hole or aperture defined by the radiator hood, such as theholes shown at 56 in FIG. 1. In the embodiment depicted, each of panels42A, 42B abuts a respective one of panels 26A, 26B when the hoodassembly 10 is in the fully closed configuration.

The hood assembly 10 is rotatable as a unit about axis A2 from the fullyclosed configuration to the fully open configuration, as shown in FIG.3. That is, to move the hood assembly 10 from the fully closedconfiguration to the fully open configuration, the engine hood 14,radiator hood 18, and frame 58 are rotated together as a unit about axisA2. Referring to FIG. 3, wherein like reference numbers refer to likecomponents from FIGS. 1 and 2, when the hood assembly 10 is in the fullyopen position, portions of the engine 84 and the radiators 88A, 88B thatare within the cavities 35, 51 when the hood assembly 10 is in the fullyclosed configuration are not within the cavities 35, 51, therebyproviding access to both the engine 84 and the radiators 88A, 88B.

Referring again to FIG. 2, the radiator hood 18 is shown in a closedposition with respect to the engine hood 14. The hood assembly 10 ismoveable from the fully closed configuration to the radiator hood openposition, as shown in FIG. 4, by rotating the radiator hood 18 aboutaxis A1 from its closed position with respect to the engine hood 14 toan open position with respect to the engine hood 14, as shown in FIG. 4.

Referring to FIG. 4, the engine hood 14 is in the same position withrespect to the chassis 68 as in the fully closed configuration shown inFIG. 2. The radiator hood 18 is positioned so that portions of theradiators 88A, 88B that are within the cavity 51 when the hood assemblyis in the fully closed configuration are not within the cavity 51 in theradiator hood open configuration, thereby providing access to theradiators 88A, 88B without having to move the engine hood 14. Theradiator hood 18 does not intersect the line 90 when it is in itsrespective open position, i.e., when the hood assembly 10 is in theradiator hood open configuration. It should be noted that the hoodassembly 10 is preferably configured such that, if the engine hood 14and the radiator hood 18 are rotated together about axis A2 when theradiator hood 18 is in the open position with respect to the engine hood14, as shown in FIG. 4, sufficient clearance exists between the radiatorhood 18 and other components to prevent physical part interferencetherebetween.

Referring to FIG. 5, the hood assembly 10 further includes at least oneload assist mechanism, which, in the embodiment depicted, is a gas strut92. The gas strut 92 interconnects reinforcement member 54 of theradiator hood 18 and the frame 58. The radiator hood 18 is depicted in abias neutral position in FIG. 5, which is between the radiator hood'sopen and closed positions. The gas strut 92 is sufficiently configuredand positioned to bias the radiator hood 18 toward the closed positionwhen the radiator hood 18 is between its closed position and the biasneutral position, and to bias the radiator hood 18 toward the openposition when the radiator hood 18 is between the bias neutral positionand the open position.

A latch (not shown) is preferably connected to one of the radiator hood18 and the frame 58 adjacent hinges 64, and a striker (not shown) ispreferable connected to the other of the radiator hood 18 and the frame58. The striker is selectively engageable with the latch to maintain theradiator hood 18 in its closed position with respect to the engine hood14, and is selectively releasable to enable movement of the radiatorhood from its closed position to its open position. The radiator hood 18may also include a handle (not shown) at or near the lower edge of theradiator grill 52 to facilitate manual movement of the radiator hood 18by an operator.

An actuator, such as a servomotor 96, is operatively connected to theframe 58 to selectively rotate the frame, and correspondingly, theradiator hood and the engine hood, about axis A2.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

When the hood assembly 10 is in the fully closed configuration as shownin FIG. 2, the engine 84 and the radiators 88A, 88B are substantiallyenclosed to protect the engine and the radiators from the environmentand to provide improved machine aesthetics. To gain access to the engineand the radiators, a machine operator rotates the engine hood 14 and theradiator hood 18 together about axis A2 so that the hood assembly 10 isin the fully open configuration, as shown in FIG. 3. Thus, access toboth the engine 84 and the radiators 88A, 88B is achievable through onlya single action, namely, rotating the engine hood 14 and the radiatorhood 18 together about the second axis A2. Rotating the engine hood 14and the radiator hood 18 together about the second axis A2 isaccomplished in the preferred embodiment by activating the actuator 96.

When access to only the radiators 88A, 88B is desired, such as forclearing debris therefrom, a machine operator need only rotate theradiator hood 18 from its closed position to its open position about thefirst axis A1, so that the hood assembly 10 is in the radiator hood openconfiguration as shown in FIG. 4. Thus, the hood assembly 10 eliminatesthe need to rotate a large hood that covers both the engine 84 and theradiators 88A, 88B merely to clean the radiators, as found in the priorart. In other words, the configuration provided by the hood assembly ofthe present disclosure facilitates access to both sides of the radiator,and thus eliminates any need to raise and lower a hood in order toaccomplish a thorough radiator cleaning.

Furthermore, the radiator hood 18 in the preferred embodiment ismanually moveable to its open position, and accordingly, a machineoperator need not wait for the actuator 96 to move the engine hoodmerely to clean the radiators. Thus, the hood assembly 10 reduces thetime required to clean the radiators compared to the prior art,resulting in reduced time required for maintenance and, correspondingly,increased machine productivity.

Referring to FIG. 2, an operator opens the radiator hood 18 in thepreferred embodiment by releasing the latch (not shown). The gas strut(shown at 92 in FIG. 5) biases the radiator hood 18 in its closedposition when the radiator hood 18 is between the closed position andthe bias neutral position to prevent the radiator hood 18 frominadvertently opening in the unlikely event the latch does not fullyengage the striker, and to assist the machine operator in moving theradiator hood from its open position to its closed position.Accordingly, after releasing the latch, a machine operator must exertsufficient force on the radiator hood 18 in opposition to the gas strutto move the radiator hood 18 past the bias neutral position to anintermediate position so that the gas strut 92 will urge the radiatorhood 18 to its open position.

Referring to FIG. 4, when the hood assembly 10 is in the radiator hoodopen configuration, the side of each of the radiators 88A, 88B thatfaces the engine 84 is exposed and accessible from both sides of themachine 72. Furthermore, the side of each of the radiators 88A, 88B thatfaces away from the engine is also accessible. Thus, a machine operatorcan clean radiator 88A by spraying water or other fluid through the sideof radiator 88A that faces the engine 84 to flush debris from radiator88A out the side of the radiator 88A that faces away from the engine 84.The machine operator then manually clears the flushed debris from sideof radiator 88A that faces away from the engine 84. This process is thenrepeated for each of radiators 88B and 88C. It should be noted thatpanels or seals may enclose the space between the radiators 88A, 88B.The panels or seals, if present, are opened or removed by the operatorprior to beginning the cleaning operation. Those skilled in the art willrecognize that one or more of the radiators 88A, 88B may be selectivelypivotable about an axis to facilitate access the radiator.

In the event that debris unintentionally reenters any one of theradiators 88A, 88B when manually clearing flushed debris from one of theradiator sides that faces away from the engine, the operator can againspray from the side of the radiator that faces the engine without havingto repeatedly open and close the engine hood, as found in the prior art.

It should be understood that the above description is intended forillustrative purposes only, and is not intended to limit the scope ofthe present invention in any way. Thus, those skilled in the art willappreciate that other aspects, objects, and advantages of the inventioncan be obtained from a study of the drawings, the disclosure and theappended claims. For example, although the machine of the embodimentdisclosed includes three radiators, a machine may include one or moreradiators. Further, the first and second axes need not be substantiallyparallel to one another to achieve three hood assembly configurationswherein the radiator hood twice intersects a line in one of theconfigurations and does not intersect the line in one other of theconfigurations. Moreover, movement of the radiator hood need not be byrotation to move between the three configurations.

1. A hood assembly for a machine comprising: a first hood; a secondhood; a first hinge defining a first axis and operativelyinterconnecting the first hood and the second hood such that the secondhood is selectively rotatable with respect to the first hood about thefirst axis; and at least part of a second hinge defining a second axisthat is substantially parallel to the first axis such that the first andsecond hoods are selectively rotatable together about the second axis.2. The hood assembly of claim 1, further comprising a frame mounted withrespect to the first hood; wherein the first hinge operativelyinterconnects the second hood and the frame such that the second hood isselectively rotatable with respect to the frame; and wherein said atleast part of a second hinge is operatively connected to the frame suchthat the frame is selectively rotatable with the first and second hoodsabout the second axis.
 3. The hood assembly of claim 1, wherein each ofthe first and second hoods is characterized by a U-shaped cross section.4. The hood assembly of claim 1, wherein the second hood includes aradiator grill.
 5. The hood assembly of claim 1, further comprising atleast one load assist mechanism operatively connected to the second hoodto selectively urge the second hood to rotate about the first axis. 6.The hood assembly of claim 5, wherein the second hood is selectivelyrotatable about the first axis between a closed position with respect tothe first hood, an open position with respect to the first hood, and apredetermined bias neutral position that is between the open and closedpositions; and wherein said at least one load assist mechanism issufficiently positioned with respect to the second hood to bias thesecond hood toward the closed position when the second hood is betweenthe closed position and the bias neutral position, and to bias thesecond hood toward the open position when the second hood is between thebias neutral position and the open position.
 7. The hood assembly ofclaim 5, further comprising an actuator operatively coupled to said atleast part of a second hinge.
 8. A machine comprising: a chassis; anengine; a radiator; a hood assembly including an engine hood beingmoveably mounted with respect to the chassis, and a radiator hood beingmoveably mounted with respect to the chassis, said hood beingcharacterized by three configurations including a fully closedconfiguration, a fully open configuration, and a radiator hood openconfiguration; wherein said radiator hood twice intersects atransversely oriented line passing between the engine and the radiatorin at least one of the three configurations and does not intersect theline in at least one other of the three configurations.
 9. The machineof claim 8, further comprising a first hinge operatively connecting theengine hood and the radiator hood to the chassis and about which theengine hood and radiator hood are selectively rotatable together withrespect to the chassis.
 10. The machine of claim 9, further comprising asecond hinge operatively connecting the radiator hood to the engine hoodand about which the radiator hood is selectively rotatable with respectto the engine hood.
 11. The machine of claim 10, wherein the first hingedefines a first axis of rotation about which the radiator hood and theengine hood are selectively rotatable; wherein the second hinge definesa second axis of rotation about which the radiator hood is selectivelyrotatable; and wherein the first axis and the second axis aresubstantially parallel to one another.
 12. The machine of claim 11,wherein each of the engine hood and the radiator hood is characterizedby a U-shaped cross section.
 13. The machine of claim 12, furthercomprising at least one load assist mechanism operatively connected tothe radiator hood to selectively urge the radiator hood to rotate aboutthe second axis.
 14. The machine of claim 13, further comprising anactuator operatively connected to the engine hood and the radiator hoodand configured to selectively rotate the engine hood and the radiatorhood together about the first axis.
 15. The machine of claim 14, whereinthe radiator hood is selectively rotatable about the second axis betweena closed position with respect to the engine hood, an open position withrespect to the engine hood, and a predetermined bias neutral positionthat is between the open and closed positions; and wherein said at leastone load assist mechanism is sufficiently positioned with respect to theradiator hood to bias the radiator hood toward the closed position whenthe radiator hood is between the closed position and the bias neutralposition, and to bias the radiator hood toward the open position whenthe radiator hood is between the bias neutral position and the openposition.
 16. The machine of claim 15, wherein the hood assembly furtherincludes a frame mounted with respect to the engine hood; wherein thefirst hinge operatively connects the frame to the chassis; and whereinthe second hinge operatively connects the radiator hood to the frame.17. A method of accessing a radiator of a machine comprising: moving ahood assembly from a fully closed configuration to a fully openconfiguration by rotating an engine hood and a radiator hood togetherabout a first axis; and moving the hood assembly from the fully closedconfiguration to a radiator hood open configuration by rotating theradiator hood with respect to the engine hood about a second axis thatis substantially parallel to the first axis.
 18. The method of claim 17,wherein said rotating the radiator hood with respect to the engine hoodincludes rotating the radiator hood from a closed position with respectto the engine hood to an open position with respect to the engine hood;and wherein said rotating the radiator hood with respect to the enginehood includes exerting a force on the radiator hood in opposition to aload assist mechanism, said force being sufficient to move the radiatorhood from the closed position to an intermediate position at which theload assist mechanism urges the radiator hood to the open position. 19.The method of claim 17, further comprising cleaning the radiator.